


Searching for You

by CosmicCove



Category: Underhero (Video Game)
Genre: (for now) - Freeform, Angst, Cereza is fine with it but I know it might make some people uncomfortable, Cereza uses he/she/they pronouns, Crying, Friendship, Gen, Hurt No Comfort, I project onto Cereza a lot lol, Mobile tagging sucks, Post-Canon, Running Away, She/her used for narration, Some people also mistake her for a boy, Wanna see me do it again?, Wanna see me write abt Cereza and MK bein friends?, adding more tag now bc i was on mobile before, but other characters call her by he or they when she's Grey Kid, grief sort of, like. missing friend grief? does that make sense?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-09
Updated: 2021-03-09
Packaged: 2021-03-16 03:08:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,718
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29943585
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CosmicCove/pseuds/CosmicCove
Summary: Despite her better judgement, a sneaky plan began to tempt her.  She could get out of the castle disguised as the Grey Kid.   If she could get out of the castle, she could find Stitches and T. Burr.  If she could find Stitches and T. Burr, she could find her friends.  All she wanted to do was to find her friends.
Relationships: Masked Kid & Cereza | Grey Kid, Mr. Stiches & Cereza | Grey Kid, T. Bur & Cereza | Grey Kid, T. Bur & Mr. Stitches
Comments: 1
Kudos: 4





	Searching for You

**Author's Note:**

> I just really like the friendship between Cereza and MK. Also, yeah I headcanon that the masks of the Masked kids are made of bone like bone china dolls are.

The days had become bland for Cereza. Five months had passed, and she was at the point where people expected her to be over Masked Kid's disappearance, so she had to resume her princess duties. She'd heard what the people were saying, that she was just using grief as an excuse to be lazy, that she didn't even know them that long and couldn't possibly feel _that_ bad about the ordeal. She could understand how it might seem like she hardly knew them, but so much had happened with them at her side during her time as the Grey Kid. Even if she knew what she was feeling, though, that wouldn't stop the rumors, so she returned to work. 

It wasn't even the work she wanted to do. As much as her parents seemed to enjoy their royal duties, Cereza didn't want to be cooped up in a castle all day. She hoped that after everything, maybe she'd be allowed to go on more adventures, but her parents forbade her from going on such quests when she'd asked. She supposed it made sense. She didn't exactly tell them everything about her adventure. Cereza knew that the more they knew the stricter they became. 

The work that she did at least provided some respite, requiring so much focus that she often grew numb to other feeling. There was always so much in her mind that the dull buzz of doing tasks drowned out, and she was thankful for it. It was still exhausting, though, to ignore it all and push forward, even if she never realized how much more tiring it was than usual until after everything was said and done. Everyday seemed to bleed into the next one. Monotony was a double-edged sword. 

Another long day had passed, and Cereza sunk back into her chair with a sigh. She noticed that a paper and envelope had been placed on her table by one of the various castle workers. She requested one to be delivered to her every Sunday, so at least she knew what day it was now. She stared down at it, face blank with numbed exhaustion. She began to scrawl down her message. _Hey MK. Hey Ellie. Still no word from Stitches or T. Bur. Not much is happening here, honestly._ Her expressionless face slowly began to grimace as she wrote. _Things have seemed to have calmed down by now. People have adjusted nicely to the world being normal. I think you would like it._

She bit the inside of her cheek, her heart feeling heavy. Masked Kid really would have liked it; they were more inclined to peacefulness no matter what they'd done in the past. Ellie, maybe not so much, she was an action girl, but Cereza also didn't doubt that Ellie would like to see the people of the chestnut kingdom so happy. _I kind of wish things could be a little more chaotic. I miss being the grey kid sometimes. I can't do that when there's nothing happening._ Her eyes stung. She might be crying, but she refused to acknowledge it enough to know for certain. _I miss you even more, though. I really want that rematch. Thinking of you, Cereza._

Cereza tucked the letter into its envelope and sealed it. She addressed it to her missing friends, and added it to the pile that she'd accumulated over the past months. After so much time she thought the pain would subside, even just a little, but it still hurt just as much as when they first vanished. Masked Kid and Elizabeth were so different from anyone else she'd ever met, and the way they welcomed her to the group and made her feel so heroic and free, even after she caused them so much trouble, was irreplaceable. The few moments they shared together, that special night in the lab, ended up being Cereza's best memory of her adventure, because it's when she truly got to know them. Nothing went her way on that journey, and she wouldn't change a second of it. 

Usually after writing her letter, she went to bed. Undoubtedly, the other occupants of the castle thought she was. This night, however, she didn't feel like sleeping at all. Instead, she was dwelling on her feelings. It probably wasn't healthy at all to keep replaying the past in her mind, but she was trying to recount the last time she'd seen each of her other friends. 

She'd last seen Bella, Handy, and Greg when they took a few days to explore around the Chestnut Kingdom as a part of Bella's plan to see the world and show Greg all he'd forgotten. She'd last seen Queen Alexandria II on royal business a month before, King Timothy accompanying his Queen. El Salserissimo lived within the castle, so she saw him often, thankfully. Scarf boy lived within the Chestnut Kingdom, and though he visited often, he was just as often on some quest with the underheroes. Cereza couldn't lie, she was jealous of him. All she wanted her whole life was adventure, and after she finally got to be a hero, it was quickly taken away from her. 

Her eyes wandered over to where her Grey Kid outfit was. Of course she still had it; she couldn't bear to part with it. She remained perfectly unrecognizable within the costume. The only ones who could identify her were those who already knew. Only those who had been there during the final battle knew it was her. With her hair tousled, her voice lowered, and her face covered, she became someone completely different, someone she considered to be the person she'd always wanted to be. 

Despite her better judgement, a sneaky plan began to tempt her. She could get out of the castle disguised as the Grey Kid. If she could get out of the castle, she could find Stitches and T. Bur. If she could find Stitches and T. Bur, she could find her friends. All she wanted to do was to find her friends. 

Cereza approached the outfit. She reached out and placed her hand on the mask, running her fingers down the smooth bone face. She picked it up and slipped it on. She never thought she'd miss having to keep it on. She knew what she wanted deep in her heart, and she wasn't going to ignore it anymore. She was going to be the Grey Kid again. 

Her crown had been discarded on the table. She had hung up her dress nicely within her closet. The hoodie was more comfortable than her dress anyways, like it was always meant to be hers. Her hands and feet were snug in red gloves and boots. The rapier felt right in her hands, like an extension of herself. She sheathed it, and even on her back it felt propper. In minutes, it was as if Princess Cereza never existed, and in her stead was the mysterious Grey Kid. 

_Getting out of the castle may be a hassle,_ Cereza mentally noted. There were various ways to leave the castle, so she'd have to choose one. Getting out of her room was easy enough, it was the rest she was worried about. She walked to the window and took a deep breath to gather her courage. Then, she leaped from the sill and caught the wind with her hoodie to parachute down. No matter how many times she did it, it made her stomach squirm with anxiety. _Do all masked kids also feel this way?_ she wondered. 

Cereza landed softly on the ground. She wasn't out yet, though. Her room was over the garden, which was walled in by other sections of the castle near the edge of the castle, but there were still a few rooms left to go through between the garden and the outside world. The garden was not a huge concern for her. She slipped between bushes and flowers, which appeared as silhouettes in the moonlight. Her dark clothes camouflaged her against the night sky. It made her feel free. 

She stopped at the door across the garden. She opened the door slowly, glancing around the hallway for anyone that might be lurking. She didn't see anyone, so she stepped in, and closed the door behind her without a sound. The hallway was dark, and she seemed to melt into the shadows. She dashed towards the exit of this particular hall. Bursting out the door, she smacked right into a knight who was guarding the castle. 

He stared at her a moment, processing what had happened. "W- What are you doing here? No underheroes should be visiting right now." 

Cereza just stared back at him wordlessly. She thought, _I can still sneak away without him interfering._

Instantly, her statement was invalidated when a voice cried out, "The princess! She's gone!" ,P>The knight unsheathed his sword, growling, "You! You took her, didn't you?" Cereza sighed, and drew her rapier. The knight swung, and Cereza deflected it with a swipe. He stumbled back, confused, and she slammed the rapier into his side. He wasn't badly hurt, she was sure of that, but he was stunned, and she used that moment to escape him. 

With a good running start, she jumped halfway over the moat before hitting the water. She swam away from the castle. "You won't get away with this, you weirdo masked boy!"the The knight yelled after her as she dragged herself back onto dry land. 

"Don't be so dramatic," she huffed under her breath, glaring at him. She turned and ran through the dark streets of the Chestnut Kingdom. She could hear distant shouting from the castle, and guilt snuck into her heart for a moment. She began to hesitate. "Can I really leave them like this?" she whispered, "Is this Selfish?" Then she remembered who she was doing it for, Elizabeth and Masked Kid, lost with only each other, trying to find their way back to their world, to _her,_ and she knew that she couldn't stand by waiting any longer. If anything, this was a noble cause. She ran even faster than before, fueled by the memory of her friends and their adventure together. 

She reached the edge of the woods surrounding her kingdom. With one last glance over her shoulder, she noticed that the houses around the castle were beginning to light up. _News must be spreading,_ Cereza thought with an amused smile, _They all think I've kidnapped myself!_ She also noticed that some of the castle guards were trying to catch her. They were far behind, and she was sure she could best them in a fight, but still she didn't want them to catch up with her. It was all over if she got caught. The identity of the Grey Kid would be revealed, and she would be put under strict supervision to ensure that she never got away again. 

She would not let them keep her from finding her friends. She disappeared into the trees. The shade of the forest made her harder to spot if they tried to search for her, so she knew she had a little more time to escape. Running, she found a dark tunnel. _Even better to hide in! _she noted, and slipped inside. Taking a few blind steps in the dark, she found that the ground steeply dropped below her feet. She tipped into the drop with a reflexive yelp, quickly covering her mouth with both hands to stop herself despite the fact that she was falling backwards down a hole into pitch black. Seconds later, she seemed to have been thrown back upwards, like gravity suddenly changed its mind, and she found herself in an oddly familiar place.__

__"Is this… The underling lair?" Cereza whispered to herself. She definitely remembered this place. Now it was all starting to click in her mind. The tunnel was the cave that connected the Chestnut kingdom to the Moth Queen's domain, and she just fell into the portal the underlings used to use to get there. She sighed, "Is everything just trying to slow me down?" She paused. "Actually, this could be a good thing."_ _

__The underling lair could be her perfect hideaway while she searched for T. Bur and Stitches. It had portals to every major location in the world. It also had been the home for T. Bur and Stitches for decades, so she was sure she'd find some clues of their whereabouts here. Besides, she already knew where she was going to stay. She met many underlings while organizing the legions of underheroes, and she'd heard about how surprisingly comfortable the rooms that Stitches provided for his minions were._ _

__She hurried away from the portal room and into the main lobby. She gently reminded herself that there was no longer a reason to be running, but it didn't reassure her in the slightest. She looked at the elevator to the underground apartment complex that the minions used to all live in. "Oh, do I really trust this thing to carry me safely?" she asked herself. Cereza reached out her hand and let it hover over the button to call the elevator. Taking a deep breath, she pressed it, throwing caution to the wind._ _

__To her surprise, the elevator opened up. She took a hesitant step inside. She pressed the first floor button. _No sense in going any lower, especially if this thing might give out, _she thought to herself. Cereza certainly did not want to go careening down to certain doom after getting this far. The elevator brought her down and opened up to the first floor. She stepped out, humming, "Well what do you know? It didn't break down with me inside."___ _

___She wandered down to the end of the hall. The apartments had been abandoned when the underlings were free to join the outside world, so she was free to choose whichever she wanted. At the end of the hall, there was a room that Cereza felt was particularly important, though she couldn't identify why. She opened the door and stepped into the room. She knew that she'd never been in this room before, but it felt familiar all the same, as if it were another home. There were a few things scattered around a table within the room. She glanced at some of the things on it, noticing a key card, and a potion, both covered in dust from months of inactivity._ _ _

___"Who left their things here?" she wondered with a giggle. She picked up the key card. The first thing that she noticed was the number 745 in the corner. Her playful curiosity evaporated on the spot. "Oh," she breathed, her voice pained. She held the key card close to her chest for a moment, like she was giving it a hug. "I'm going to find you," she vowed, "And when I do, I'll get this back to you."_ _ _

___No wonder it felt like home here. Cereza always felt at home around her friends, and this was the closest she could get to Masked Kid and Elizabeth right now. She debated leaving the room. Even if this was the room of her friends, was she welcome here right now? She decided that she was welcome because of how bittersweet it felt. She would spend the night here. After all, it was very late, and she wanted to get some sleep. She wanted to be in her best condition when she continued her search in the morning._ _ _

___She laid down on Masked Kid's bed, hoping that they wouldn't mind. Her eyes stung again, and her vision was blurry. Warm tears were streaming down her face, and this time she let herself cry. It felt like Masked Kid was her first real friend, the first person to really know her the way she wanted to be known, not as a princess but as an adventurer. She couldn't stand the way it felt like the world had snatched away every good thing that had happened to her right when it seemed like she had gotten everything she'd even dreamed of. _Why, of all people, did it have to be them?_ she wondered. With a heavy heart, she closed her eyes and allowed herself to drift off._ _ _


End file.
